


Our Story That Lies Incomplete

by MiniNoire



Series: Mini's Spin The Record Challenge [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angry Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Angst, Angst and Feels, Break Up, Crying, F/M, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Hurt No Comfort, Luka Couffaine Loves Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, No Beta, Past Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Post Lukanette, Post-Break Up, Protective Luka Couffaine, Song fic, Sorry Not Sorry, based on a bollywood song, luka has reasons, sibling care, spin the record challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27262681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNoire/pseuds/MiniNoire
Summary: Mindless of the long shadows that the buildings outside cast in his room, Luka strummed at his guitar absentmindedly, no specific song escaping his skilled fingers. However, his mind remained numb to the unsynchronised collection of notes that the instrument in his hand produced. All he could hear was muted silence.
Relationships: Juleka Couffaine & Luka Couffaine, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Mini's Spin The Record Challenge [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990597
Comments: 12
Kudos: 30
Collections: Miraculous: Spin The Record Challenge, October 2020 - Dark





	Our Story That Lies Incomplete

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NOIRequin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NOIRequin/gifts).



> Blame NoirRequin;s tempting Spin The Record Challenge and [ this beautiful, saddening song in Arijit Singh's soulful voice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3FFOBrMmdg) for the birth of this fic.

_we came close,_

_yet the distances never reduced._

_our story…_

_It remained like one incomplete tale_

The horizon was ablaze with the fiery orange glow cast by the setting sun, with the inky black and blue of the sky providing a stark contrast to it. The moon hung in the curtain of clouds like a silver claw, along with the twinkling of a few stars which had managed to sneak through the smoke and dust of the city.

Mindless of the long shadows that the buildings outside cast in his room, Luka strummed at his guitar absentmindedly, no specific song escaping his skilled fingers. However, his mind remained numb to the unsynchronised collection of notes that the instrument in his hand produced. All he could hear was muted silence. A silence so dark, so thick, it wrapped around him like a snake around its prey, choking him in his chokehold yet not bringing him the death he desired.

He sat cross legged on his couch, his tear-obscured vision fixed on the place in front of him. The place where _she_ would have sat, listening to the music he played for her (and _only_ _her_ ) as she looked at him with a gaze that held boundless love for him (and _only him_ ).

He felt a hand on his shoulder and stopped strumming. Majority of him wanted to immediately turn to take in the bluebell eyes that were looking over him in worry. Most of him wanted to shun the world and simply hold her in her arms, never letting her go.

But the small, rational part of him knew that it wasn’t the person his heart wanted to meet right now.

“Luka… you need to stop,” came his sister’s low mumble.

He took in a deep breath and then looked down at his hands. A small gasp escaped him as he took in the calluses in his fingers that bled from excessive strumming. However, he felt no pain.

The pain in his heart was too much.

Luka felt the couch shift a little, and he looked up to find Juleka’s amber gaze looking at him worriedly. She reached over to sweep her hand over his cheek, and he realised that he had been silently crying. However, he spoke nothing. 

“If you wanted her to stay, why did you let her go in the first place?” She asked.

He shook his head slowly, picking up his guitar to place it by the side of the couch. Juleka put a hand on his knee. A silent sign that he could remain quiet if he wanted to. He nodded gently at her in gratitude, before staring ahead at nothing. As the ominous silence stretched, he brought his knees close to himself, to his chest. He buried his head in them, not wanting his sister to witness his ragged state. He took in deep breaths to calm himself down, but they soon turned to heaving sobs as the pang of loneliness stabbed his heart mercilessly. Again and again and again.

He felt Juleka wrap an arm around him, and he leaned into her embrace, his face still hidden from her. He didn’t want her to see him cry, not when she believed her brother to be strong and calm and cool-headed. But right now, he couldn’t help the tears from escaping. And the way she rubbed circles on his back, trying to soothe him, he knew she understood the depth of his pain.

* * *

  
_it is not necessary that the earth always_

_goes to meet the sky.._

_the true love is the one that_

_does not get a destination.._

As the hour approached closer to midnight, the stars littered the sky. Just like someone had sprinkled sugar over a wide expanse of black.

 _Or salt_ , Luka thought glumly, as he looked at the stars from his balcony that faced the Seine.

He loathed the way those stars twinkled happily in the sky. He hated the way the moon shimmered in the Seine, like a silver jewel put in the river bed. His red-rimmed eyes sourly took in the sight of a happy couple who stood by the banks of the river, holding each other close as they gazed at the stars. 

Why did the world have to be happy when he was drowning in misery here?

Luka sighed. His misery wasn’t the world’s fault, after all. It was entirely his. Juleka was right, if he truly loved her, he shouldn’t have let her go in the first place.

But then again, all nice love stories didn’t end in a happy ending, did they?

He took a sip of his coffee, only to find the very faint taste of strawberry lip gloss ghost on his tongue. Surprised, he turned the cup around to find the familiar picture of a small ladybug nestled snugly among the cherry blossoms.

He had chosen to use her cup for his coffee, just like she would choose his snake mug for hers.

Luka felt his throat close up for the umpteenth time that day, as his mind went back to the events that had earlier taken place in the day.

* * *

_there were colors, there was light,_

_when you were near me._

_this world was like a paradise.._

“How’s this, Melody?” Luka asked brightly, holding up the scarf he had knitted out of fun.

His girlfriend looked up at him, her bluebell eyes shining at the sight of the fluffy pink fabric he held in his hands. She immediately came up to him, her experienced hands running through the scarf in delight. “Wow Lu, this… this is so beautiful! It’s perfect!”

“It is?” He asked in delight, and his heart fluttered at seeing her nod eagerly.

“The knits are consistent, and the fabric you chose is so good and oh gosh, I simply love the feel of this material through my fing--”

He silenced her gushing with a soft kiss to her lips, causing her to stiffen a bit in surprise before she relaxed into his embrace. As they pulled back, Luka gently wrapped the scarf around her neck, causing her to gasp.

“Well, I did make this for you. Happy belated birthday, Marinette.”

“B-but… you already got me a pair of earrings on my birthday a week ago,” Marinette stuttered out, her bluebell eyes blown wide in surprise.

“I did, but it wasn’t something handmade. And I know how much you love handmade things, MiniNette.”

Luka watched as Marinette worried the scarf between her fingers, looking down at the fabric in wonder and apprehension. He felt a frown make its way on his lips the longer Marinette’s silence stretched on, and finally he couldn’t resist himself.

“Is something the matter, Marinette? You don’t seem happy at the gift, is there something wrong with it?”

“Oh no! Not at all,” she let out a fake laugh, and Luka realised something was seriously wrong. “It’s just that--”

“Y’know you can share anything with me, right Marinette? It’s not like I haven’t noticed your sullen mood this entire week, I just didn’t want to bring it up.”

“I...Luka...it’s--” And to his great shock and horror, Marinette slumped into his chest as she started crying. 

“Mari? Mari, what’s wrong?” Luka immediately scooped the petite girl up in his arms, carrying her bridal style to the couch. He sat down and hugged her to his chest, rubbing small circles on her back in an attempt to calm her down (and also to stop himself from dwelling on the infinite causes for her tears, each possibility worse than the last)

As he felt her breathing even out a bit, he gently tilted her chin up and brushed her bangs out of her forehead, before pressing a chaste kiss there. A strangled sob escaped her mouth and he looked down, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Marinette? Is...is everything alright?”

She shook her head as new tears welled up in her eyes, causing Luka to bend down to kiss her tears away. He gave her a worried look, and she took in a deep breath before she started speaking. 

“You...you know Amelie Graham de Vanily?” Marinette asked, and Luka’s face immediately twisted into a frown, as if he had eaten a sour fruit.

“The former wife of Gabriel Agreste, whose son Felix is legally a future heir of Gabriel Fashion brand, along with Felix’s half-brother, Adrien Agreste?” At Marinette’s nod, Luka prodded. “What about her?”

“Yeah, apparently I caught her son Felix’s eye. He even tried to ask me on a date multiple times, but I flat refused.”

Luka was shocked at the piece of information. “Little Bug, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. I just thought that he was showing those spoilt brat tendencies: trying to woo a girl the moment he sees one. And ignoring him looked like the best option.”

“I...okay,” Luka massaged his brow in worry, before asking Marinette to continue.

“The day after my birthday, I got a call in the name of Gabriel Fashion, asking me to arrive at a certain place at a given time. I went there only to find Amelie and Felix waiting there for me.”

Luka looked at her with wide eyes. “They tricked you into meeting them? That’s a low blow!” A disturbing thought suddenly came into his mind, causing him to hover his hand over her face in pure worry. “Did they- did they do anything to you?”

Marinete gave him a reassuring smile, even though it was watery. “No, no, they didn’t do anything with me, they didn’t. They just…. Felix proposed to me.”

“Felix did **_WHAT_**?” Okay, that was totally outrageous. And Luka really wanted to deck Felix in the face.

“Luka calm down! It’s not like I accepted!”

“I know but still…” he shut his mouth at Marinette’s glare. “Okay, you refused. What happened next?”

“Well, I told Amelie that I have a boyfriend. A stupid boyfriend I deeply love.” Marinette looked up at him with a coy smile, which he returned with a small grin. However, her face immediately went dark again. “That woman then proceeded to give me an ultimatum for a week.”

“An ultimatum?” Luka was surprised. “What kind of ultimatum?”

“I…” Marinette looked away, and Luka was concerned. “I had to give up something for rejecting Felix. She gave me two choices.”

“And what were those choices?”

“To either give up my boutique or…” she looked up at him with shimmering eyes. “Or give you up.”

Luka’s stomach bottomed out. Giving Marinette up was something that hadn’t even happened in the wildest of his dreams; it was simply unfathomable. But at the same time, Marinette’s boutique was something she had devoted her blood, sweat and tears to, and he knew how much _Porte Bonheur_ meant to her.

And he also knew how conniving the Grahan de Vanilys really were. Being a part of their favorite band, he encountered them regularly even if he didn't want to.

If Luka was thinking right, Amelie knew that Marinette won’t give Luka up. And using this fact to her advantage, the older woman seeked to make Marinette weak by taking away _Porte Bonheur_ , and to cause Marinette to repent her decisions before making another deal.

A deal that would involve Marinette subjecting to the whims of the Graham de Vanily’s in order to get _Porte Bonheur_ back.

Luka didn’t doubt his girlfriend in the least; he knew she was headstrong enough to bounce back gracefully. Yet, he didn’t want to take any chances with her. After all, coaxing a heart broken person is always easier than a headstrong one.

He just wished Marinette hadn’t made her decision yet.

“Did you… did you give them the answer, Melody?”

Marinette shook her head in denial. “I didn’t. The meeting is tomorrow. But I already have decided what to do, Luka. I’m not letting you go.”

He knew she wasn’t going to. But he had to make her let him go.

_on the sand of time, you left_

_something like my name written.._

“Marinette, but…”

She wrapped her arms around him as she clung to him. “No Luka. I’m not letting you go. Please don’t make me do this.”

He closed his eyes, cursing internally. _Melody, I beg you to not make me do this._

“Marinette, leave me, please.”

She just clung tighter to him in response.

Closing his eyes as he steeled himself from within, Luka wrapped his arms around Marinette’s waist before picking her off his lap and dropping her on the floor. She looked at him in shock and hurt, and it took him his entire being to not pick her up and kiss her in apology..

“Did they give you a ring?”

She looked at him, bafflement clear on her face as she stood up. “They... yeah, but what does that have to do with this?”

“And did you accept the ring?” He asked again, reluctantly causing his voice to get a little higher in octave. The way Marinette cringed made him detest himself from within, but he didn’t let his emotions take over. 

“I-I… Amelie thrust it in my hand and…”

“You brought it along with yourself,” Luka mumbled. He knew Amelie would have done such a thing, and right now, ignoring how shallow it felt, he latched onto that excuse to get his way out of the situation. “You didn’t refuse, you simply accepted it. You already made your decision, Marinette.”

Marinette looked at him with confusion, before realisation and horror dawned on her face as she caught up with his words. “Luka… I-no, it’s not like th--”

He let out a bitter laugh, his bitterness born from the stupid situation he found himself in. “Yeah yeah, it isn’t like you care more about wealth than the person, right? After all, first Adrien Agreste, then Felix Graham de Vanily, both rich blondes… why would you like to be stuck with a struggling musician like m--”

His next words were stopped abruptly by a slap to his face.

Luka looked up to find Marinette looking at him with fury, angry tears leaking down her face as she grit her teeth in rage. Her chest heaved up and down as she breathed, and Luka knew at that moment that the arrow had hit its mark, successfully hurting her and killing him from inside.

“Take back your words, Luka Couffaine,” she gritted out angrily. “Take. Them. _**BACK!**_ ”

“ _ **I WON’T!**_ ” He shouted back at her, feeling his life drain from inside.

Marinette looked at him with hurt and bafflement, before she unwrapped the scarf around her neck and tossed it at his face with full force. The soft fabric didn’t hurt him even a bit, but in that moment, he could hear his heart shatter into uncountable pieces.

He looked at the scarf in his hand, his thumb running over the little “L&M” he had etched in a corner of the fabric. A last relic of the love he and Marinette had shared. He could hear the high crescendo of her heart song, and the tempest it raged, and he knew he was the cause of it. 

As the door slammed shut, so did the song disappear from his heart, just like his ladylove who had left him alone. And he was left alone in the room, with a suffocating silence and a wretched scarf that served as the memory of his heartbreak.

He threw the scarf out of the window before sitting down with his guitar, adamant to chase the silence away and find the heartsong that had unknowingly become the symphony of his life.

* * *

_our incomplete story,_

_our incomplete story..._

He downed the coffee and rubbed at his eyes, before moving over to his desk. A new symphony was coming to his mind, one that was way different from his earlier songs. It wasn't uplifting, it wasn't melodious. It was something that begged for forgiveness, told of his situation and the battle that raged in his mind and heart.

It was the last memory of his and Marinette's love story, one that now laid incomplete. 

Perhaps forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Story also shared on my [Main tumblr](https://mininoire.tumblr.com/) and [Writing Tumblr](https://noirewrites.tumblr.com/).
> 
> If you are looking for a friendly MLB community to discuss your ideas, plots or share views regarding the show, or to simply be a part of a MLB server, join the [Miraculous Fanworks Discord server](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) today!


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